Friend In the Worst of Times
by LukeyLover
Summary: Kelsi is kidnapped by a mysterious man and finds herself in a strange place. Then another mysterious man brings a "present" for the first man. This "present" turns out to be Ryan... PERMANENTLY ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

"Where are we going mister?" Kelsi Nielsen asked as the van turned a corner. She had been at a park with her mother when a strange man came up to her and asked if she wanted to go for a drive. She figured that it would be okay, considering her mother was talking to her friend. Her mother never wanted Kelsi to bother her when she was talking to her friends. Especially not when her gentlemen friend came over when her father was away at his business conferences.

The van turned another corner and the man driving the can still hadn't answered. Kelsi watched her legs swing off the edge of the front car seat. Kelsi looked at the man and waited for him to answer. Feeling eyes on him, he assumed that it was the sweet little girl had picked up.

"Sorry, honey. Did you say something?" The man took his eyes off the rod for a moment to look at the little girl. Her big blue eyes were staring back at him so innocently he couldn't help, but smile.

"Where are we going?" Kelsi asked again. She was still as interested to know as the first time she had asked.

"We're going to my house sweetie." The man said as they passed another boarded up shop.

"Where do you live?" Kelsi asked. She sat on her hands and looked out the passenger side window she was sitting next to.

"Right," The man said. "Here." He turned into the gravel driveway of an old, dilapidated theatre. Kelsi's eyes grew wide and sparkled in the sun. The man turned off the van and took off his seatbelt. He undid Kelsi's seatbelt. He noticed that she was in awe that he actually lived here.

"You really live here?!" Kelsi exclaimed as she jumped out of the van, carefully closed the door, and ran to the front door. Next to the door, Kelsi jumped up and down, waiting for the man to open it. When the man finally got the door open, Kelsi had remembered her manners and was patiently waiting for the man to show her around the theatre. She then stood still. He started to walk down the main corridor and she followed him. They walked up the stairs and down one of the side hallways. There were numerous rooms on either side. The man pointed out a few rooms. The only room Kelsi remembered was that bathroom. When Kelsi and the man reached the door at the end of the hallway, the man stopped. Kelsi followed suit and stopped in her tracks.

"Here, honey. You should like this room." He waved his hand to the door he was standing next to.

"Can I go in?" Kelsi asked anxiously. The man nodded and she quickly opened the door. She ran into the room and looked at everything in awe. The high ceilings were covered in varnished wood. In the corner was a beautiful twin, Victorian bed. In the other corner farthest from the door, was a black, baby grand piano. Kelsi's lit up at the sight of the piano. Kelsi turned to face the man.

"Am I allowed to play that?" Kelsi asked as she anxiously rocked back and forth on her heels.

"Of course, sweetie." The man said. When he started to close the door, Kelsi looked confused.

"Where are you going?" Kelsi asked. She thought that maybe he would show her more other theatre, but obviously, he was not going to.

"I need to get ready for dinner. My friend is coming over." The man calmly explained.

"Oh, well okay." Kelsi ran over to the piano and noticed that some of the strings inside the piano were broken. She felt as though someone was watching her and she was right. She turned around to see that the man was in fact, as she had expected, watching her. She cocked her head to one side and looked at him quizzically. The man shook his head to clear his thoughts and started closing the door again.

"Oh," The man stopped and looked at Kelsi again. "Make sure that if you meet my friend that you stay close to me, okay?"

"Okay!" Kelsi went back to the piano and started fiddling with the keys. She devised melodies that she thought were interesting and just plain goofed around. The man brought her dinner a couple hours after she had begun to play with the piano. After awhile, Kelsi noticed that she had been for alone for longer than she should have been. She knew that she had to find the man before his friend came. He had told her to stay close. She opened the door and walked through the hallway into the main room. She saw the man at the door with what looked like 2 other people. Kelsi had forgotten her glasses at the park, so things far away were hard for her to distinguish. However, she could hear people talking.

"I brought you a present! Some Evans kid I think. Might be worth a lot. Do whatever you want with him." The man at the door said. The man that had taken Kelsi nodded.

"Thanks Rob, I'll take him." The man Kelsi now knew as Rob shoved the small boy into the doorway. Kelsi winced as she heard a loud smack. The boy was obviously unconscious because he made no effort to get up and did not squirm or squeal when he hit the ground. The man who lived at the theatre picked up the boy and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Rob waved goodbye and shut the door after himself. The man sighed, long and deep. He walked to the stairs and waltzed up them. Kelsi then realized that if she caught her eavesdropping, he would most definitely be mad. She ran back to her room and swiftly, but quietly, shut her door. She to bed and jumped onto it. She lay down and stared up at the ceiling as if she was day dreaming.

Kelsi could hear heavy footsteps in the hallway, some rustling in one of the rooms, and then a door slam. Then her own door opened. Kelsi could feel her face flush.

"Goodnight, honey. Have good dreams." The man said and walked out of the room and what sounded to Kelsi like down the hallway. Kelsi waited a few minutes to make sure that he had actually went to bed. She was very worried about the boy that then man's friend had brought. Kelsi was standing in a matter of seconds. She tiptoed out of her room and to the door of the room that the boy had been put in. She glanced down the hallway to see if the man was in it. When she was sure that the coast was clear, she quickly, but gracefully, opened and shut the door after her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Kelsi glanced around the room and noticed that to the left, the boy was sitting in a chair. She edged closer to him, not wanting to alert him or the man of her presence. When Kelsi got close enough to the boy, she could see that he was, in fact, tied to the chair. She also noticed that he was badly bruised and looked as if he was recently bleeding profusely. She scooted even closer so that she could inspect the bruises further.

She very gently pushed his hair off his forehead so that she could feel his head. She placed her hand on his forehead for a few seconds before she realized that he was burning up. She gently took her hand away from his forehead; he didn't make any noise other than his shallow breathing. Kelsi glanced at the rest of the bruises on his face and very softly touched some of least painful looking of the bunch. Her eyes continued to fill with worry as she saw his that his bright pink lips were also cracked and bloody. She then lightly ran her finger over his bottom lip. This caused the boy to stir and come out of his forced slumber. His eyes were wide with horror as he looked around the room. His eyes finally landed on Kelsi who was standing patiently in front of him. Kelsi thought that she saw him relax slightly when his eyes rested on her. Kelsi put her fingers to her lips and quietly shushed him. He slowly nodded.

"What's your name?" Kelsi asked innocently. She searched his eyes for some glimmer of life.

"Ryan." He finally said, averting his eyes to the floor. "Ryan Evans."

"I'm Kelsi Nielsen!" She was excited to meet him, but knew that she should not be as cheerful as she usually is. "How did that man, Rob, get you?"

"Well, I was at the park with my sister and my mom and my sister was with her friends. So I was playing alone…" Ryan continued to talk, carefully choosing his words. He had to stop every so often to cough and clear his throat. Meanwhile, Kelsi was inspecting his clothes. He was in khaki shorts with a light blue t-shirt and white tennis shoes. His light straw colored hair looked clean except for the blotches of blood in his hair. Kelsi thought that he must be rich or something, he looked so nice and tidy considering what had happened to him. She thought of her plain jeans and pink top and sighed. She noticed that Ryan was still talking and then focused her full on attention on what he was saying.

"And by the time I knew what was happening I was blindfolded and tied up in the back of a car. I could tell from the He had already beat me up enough for me not to move at all…Then when we stopped here he beat me up some more, just for fun I think. I don't know what happened after that and then you came." Ryan took and deep breath and in turn coughed loudly. Obviously neither Ryan nor Kelsi cared if they were heard or not because they had no reaction to the loud noise. Ryan searched the floor for a few seconds before realizing that Kelsi hadn't said anything. He looked at her quizzically.

"Why are you here? You're too nice to be related to that man who took me." Ryan said with a slight, very slight, smile. Kelsi blushed as she grinned back.

"Well the man that owns this theatre took me for a ride when my mom was talking to her friend at the park. And then we came here…And then I met you!" Kelsi was happy that she had someone to 

talk to and care for. She was so sick of everyone treating her like a baby. Sure, maybe sure was little for her age, but she could take care of herself.

"Oh," Ryan said, looking thoughtfully into Kelsi's eyes. "I'm sorry." Kelsi looked confused.

"It's not your fault." Kelsi said with another grin. Ryan then struggled in his bindings. He was obviously tired of being tied to the chair. Kelsi reached a hand out, but stopped herself. She bit her lip.

"Do you want me to go and get some stuff to clean you up a little?" Kelsi offered to Ryan. Ryan looked at her suspiciously as he stopped struggling. He wasn't sure that he could trust her yet. He then once again slowly nodded his head. Kelsi got up and hurried to the door. Kelsi put her hand on the doorknob and turned back to see if Ryan was also looking at her. He was, however his eyelids were fluttering shut. Kelsi knew that she had to hurry. She quickly opened the door and lightly ran to the bathroom that the man had showed her.

Kelsi swung open the cabinet under the sink and found washcloths. She grabbed one and quickly wet it. When Kelsi had all of the materials necessary to clean up Ryan, she opened the door. As she was opening the door she heard a loud crash. It wasn't her, though she knew it was Ryan. Kelsi quickly closed the door again. She heard a door open and then a knock.

"Yes?" She called. She stopped moving so as not to clue the man into what she was doing.

"Are you okay in there, sweetie?" The man called from the other side of the door.

"Yeah," Kelsi lied. "I just dropped something. That's all! Good night!"

"Be more careful. Good night." The man said. Kelsi assumed that he went straight to sleep after the door closed again because she didn't hear any other noise. She quickly shut of the light and hurried back to Ryan. She swiftly ran into the room and saw that Ryan had somehow tipped himself over. He was clenching his teeth so as not to cry. Ryan didn't want Kelsi to think that he was weak. Everyone else already thought he was weak; he didn't need another person to underestimate him, too. However, when he moved he let out a faint whimper.

Kelsi set down the supplies and scooted over to him. She then tried to help him up, but her arms failed her. She just wasn't strong enough. She made a quick decision and went to the back of the chair to untie the knots. She noticed that they were sailor knots. She had just learned about them in school. She always paid attention in class so she knew exactly how to get the knots undone. With all her might, she pulled at the knots. After a few failed attempts, she finally had him untied. Kelsi scooted the chair, still on its side, away from them.

Ryan tried to pull himself up, but ultimately failed, resulting in more pain. Kelsi heard his cries of pain and quickly went to help him up. As she helped him up, she let him lean his full weight on her. He was also small for his age, which Kelsi guessed to be the same as her own, so he did not weigh enough to hurt her. As Kelsi was helping him up, she noticed that the rope that been binding him was hiding 

dreadful burns underneath. She winced at the sight of them, but continued on. Ryan softly grunted as he was finally pulled to an upright position. He was still leaning on Kelsi for support.

"Thank you." Ryan said. He was truly grateful; he could now put his full trust in Kelsi. She gently patted a section of his arm that was not bruised then reached for wet washcloth she had brought with her. She moved the hair out of his eyes and patted his head, face, lips and anywhere that was from the chest up that she could see. Kelsi then directed her attention to the sores on Ryan's wrists. She then ever so gently cleaned his wrists. Ryan started to whimper and flinch to the touch of the washcloth; Kelsi took this as a sign to stop. She set down the washcloth and looked at Ryan. He looked on the verge of tears.

Ryan couldn't look at Kelsi; if he did he knew that he would break down. Kelsi cocked her head at an angle that allowed her to see Ryan's eyes. Ryan stared at her with two red eyes, holding back tears with all their might. Finally he couldn't take it anymore. He completely broke down. He became numb to his wounds as he buried his face in Kelsi's shoulder. Kelsi could feel her eyes welling up with tears as she saw her new friend weep. But she didn't let her defenses down; she had to be strong for Ryan. She gently pulled him into a hug. He didn't hug back, but buried his face deeper in Kelsi's shoulder. Kelsi took one hand and stroked the back of his head.

"Ssshhh, ssshhh." She said tenderly with each stroke. "I'm so sorry." Kelsi said as she stopped patting his head, pulling him into her into a not-too-tight embrace. Ryan, feeling more comfortable, painfully put his arms around Kelsi's slim midsection. He whimpered softly as he settled around her. She softly laid her head on top of his. After what Kelsi guessed to be an hour, she felt Ryan's breathing regulate. She then nuzzled her cheek into Ryan's hair and closed her eyes. She knew that she had done something that would get her in trouble later, but it just felt so right. Before Kelsi could go to sleep, Ryan tightened his grip on her. Kelsi knowingly smiled and let herself relax. She knew that if Ryan had her and she had Ryan, they would both be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryan's eyelids were heavy as he tried to open them. He struggled, but eventually they listened to him. He tried to lift his head and look around the room, but couldn't. Something was weighing him down. He flicked his eyes up to see what it was. It was Kelsi. Now he remembered.

He shifted his weight so that he was lying on his back with his head on Kelsi's thigh and his arms at his side. When he finally got settled, the pain came back. He turned his head so that his cheek was lying on Kelsi's thigh. Ryan felt as though he could cry, but no tears came. His eyes were still raw from the night before.

Ryan closed his eyes and tried to will the pain away. His face, his eyes, his ribs—everything was searing with pain. He wished that Kelsi would wake up soon. She cared for him, about him. He felt safe in her arms and comforted by her gaze. He hoped that someday he would be able to return her kindness. As if an answer to his prayers, Kelsi started to stir.

Kelsi yawned and stretched her arms. He looked down and saw Ryan's bright blue eyes. Their whites were still red from the night before. She smiled and gently stroked his hair with her left hand, her right lying tenderly on his chest. Ryan closed his eyes and savored his moment of almost pure bliss.

"Oh, no!" Kelsi exclaimed. "I'm going to be in so much trouble! That man's going to find out that I'm with you and…" Kelsi was so worried that she looked on the verge of tears. This made Ryan worried. He quickly and painfully reached up and stoked the side of Kelsi's face.

"Kelsi," Ryan said. He was being strong for Kelsi. He would start repaying her right now. "Calm down. Just stay with me and you'll be fine." Kelsi still looked worried. Ryan felt he needed to add something, so he said, with a thoughtful smile, "I promise."

Kelsi smiled back. She completely trusted him. She had just met him and he had her complete trust. Who knew that could happen? Although Kelsi didn't know, Ryan also had complete trust in her, despite the lack of time spent with her. They stared into each other's eyes with, with an emotion that can't be into words. Ryan diverted his eyes to the door.

"I think I heard something." Ryan simply stated. He clenched his teeth and sat up, leaning against Kelsi.

"I heard that, too." Kelsi said. Her senses now fully alert. Kelsi tried to calm down. She matched her breathing to Ryan's. At the moment, it felt as though they were a single person. Kelsi heard a door open then slam quickly afterwards. Ryan's breathing got quicker and in turn so did Kelsi's. Ryan thought he may be overreacting because he thought that he could feel the ground shake with every footstep he heard. He pursed his lips and looked Kelsi. She was completely pale. Between their touching thighs, Ryan grasped Kelsi's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. She was still snow white.

There was no knock at the door, no hesitation when the man entered. He looked furious. His eyes were bulging and the large vein in his forehead was visibly pulsing. His face was beat red. Ryan thought of the play he had seen once before with his family, _The Phantom of the Opera_. Ryan thought 

that he thought the man looked just like the costume the Phantom had worn to the masquerade, "The Red Death". Ryan shivered at the thought.

"What," That man started. "Are you doing in here you little twit?" The man said, directly to Kelsi. She had started to shake. Ryan squeezed Kelsi's hand again and this time kept his grip. The man came closer to the children. Kelsi gaze was diverted to the ground while Ryan was staring straight into the deranged man's eyes. The man's eyes flashed with even more rage when he met Ryan's gaze.

"She has a name you know." Ryan said. He had to look out for Kelsi no matter what it took. The man narrowed his eyes and looked Ryan directly in the eye.

"Was I talking to you, pipsqueak?" The man said in a raised voice. He looked back to Kelsi and his eyes seemed to narrow even more. Kelsi thought that he looked utterly and completely terrifying; Ryan on the other hand thought he looked oddly familiar.

"What are you trying to do, squeeze your eyeballs till they pop?" Ryan taunted. He knew where he had seen that look. His father had given him that look when he was one of his drunken rampages. The man looked to Ryan again and made an advance. Kelsi scrunched her legs in so that her knees were touching her chest. The man came within two feet of the children and stopped. He thrust his foot into the air and then down onto Ryan's thigh. Ryan screamed out in agony. He placed his free hand over the place where the man's foot had landed. A small tear rolled from Ryan's right eye. Kelsi saw this and found her courage.

"Leave him alone! He didn't do anything to hurt you!" Kelsi yelled at the top of her lungs. She hadn't surprised herself, but it had startled the two other people in the room with her. Then man that had harmed Ryan was taken aback as though he didn't know what to do. He thought that they were just kids, what could they do to him? He hadn't thought that they'd fight back. He was so frustrated with himself and with the kids that he stormed out of the room. Ryan and Kelsi watched the man close the door behind him. Ryan took his hand out of Kelsi's and quickly wiped the tear from his cheek.

"Thank you." Kelsi said. She was truly touched that Ryan had protected her. Ryan leaned his head back on the wall and closed his eyes. Kelsi knew that he wasn't ignoring her, just dealing with the pain that he was feeling. "Ryan, I'll be right back."

When Kelsi stood up, she made sure that Ryan was comfortably sitting by himself. She walked over to the door and slowly opened it. She peered around the corner and down the hall to search for the man. She began to walk down the hall when she heard Ryan call her name. She backed up and looked around the corner into the room she had just exited.

"Be careful, okay?" Ryan told her. "Yell as loud as you did a couple minutes and I'll find you." She smiled at him and went back out the door. She lightly walked through the hallway and down the stairs. She went to the other side of the main room and through the hallway in front of her. She went to each of the doors and looked into each room they led to. The first couple of rooms were filled with old props. She made a mental note to tell Ryan about those when she returned. The next doors looked 

almost exactly like the room she had been given, except without the piano. The last door that she came to at the end of the hall was just what she was looking for: the kitchen. She knew Ryan had to be hungry; he must be extremely weak from the thrashing he had received the other day. She definitely knew that she was.

She strode over to the fridge, opened the door, and rummaged around the door until she found something suitable for them to eat. She found a loaf of bread and took a couple slices. She looked the door of the fridge up and down. In the middle of the door, she found some peanut butter and jelly. She took them out and set them on the counter. In the sink, she spotted some knives that were drying on a rack. She picked out two and opened the jars. One sandwich she made with only peanut butter and the other she made with only jelly. She closed the jars and put them back into the fridge. She snatched up the sandwiches and ran out of the kitchen. She knew that the man would probably come of out his room soon and she didn't want to meet up with him.

When she got up the stairs she ran directly to the room that Ryan was in. She then closed the door behind her. She sighed as she walked over to Ryan. He smiled at her. Ryan had been anxious for her to return. Mostly because he was scared that that awful man might do something to Kelsi. He didn't know what, but he knew it would hurt her no matter what it was. She walked over to him and sat next to him so that their shoulders were touching. Kelsi felt Ryan relax with her touch.

"Peanut butter?" Kelsi held up one of the sandwiches. "Or jelly?" She held up her other hand.

He smiled. "I'll have the peanut butter if you don't want it."

"Here you go!" Kelsi handed the sandwich to Ryan. They both began to devour their sandwiches. After Ryan finished his sandwich, he tried to get all the peanut butter out of his mouth. He was doing this only to talk to Kelsi, but obviously she had found her own type of entertainment. She had been chuckling since Ryan and she had stopped eating.

"What's so funny?" He asked, looking at her quizzically.

"What are you doing?" Kelsi asked with a slight laugh. Ryan looked confused.

"Uh, getting the peanut butter out of my mouth?" Ryan didn't think he was doing anything wrong. What was so funny?

"Well," Kelsi explained. "You look like my grandma's dog after we give her her medicine all covered in peanut butter." Kelsi started to laugh again. Ryan was no longer confused. Now that he thought about it, it did feel a little funny when he did that. He guessed that he probably looked funny dong it, too. He started to laugh, too.

"My sister's dog does that, too!" He added. They both giggled until they heard a door slam. They knew that the man was probably coming back to torment them again. Kelsi scooted closer to Ryan, but not too close as to hurt him. Ryan pulled his knees up so that him legs made an acute angle. He nuzzled the side her of head with the side of his to comfort her. The door opened and the man appeared. Kelsi 

noticed that he wasn't as angry as he was before. However, he did come over to the children the same way that he had before. He stormed over to them and looked from Ryan to Kelsi, Kelsi to Ryan.

"You two," The man started. "Need to come with me." Kelsi looked to Ryan and him to her. "Now!" The man kicked Ryan in the shin and Ryan once again grimaced. He had just gotten over the last blow and now he had another bruise to look after. Ryan started to get up, but Kelsi beat him to it. She helped him up and placed his arm around her shoulder. It was hard for Kelsi to help Ryan; he was, after all, a good 3 inches taller than her. The man merely snorted and walked to the door. Kelsi and Ryan gradually made their way to the door and met the man in the hallway, where he had advanced to. The man led the way to another door off the hallway they were in. When Ryan and Kelsi were finally in the room, the man closed the door and turned on the lights.

Hanging on one wall was a white bed sheet. In front of the sheet, was a single wooden dining chair and in front of the chair was a video camera set on top of a tripod. The man went over to the camera and got it started up. Ryan and Kelsi walked over to the video camera and waited for instruction. Without looking at the children, the man said, "Twit first, Pipsqueak second."

The man grabbed at Kelsi's arms and made contact. He pulled her with such force that he almost gave her whiplash. He also pulled her at a speed that did not allow Ryan to catch his balance. His actions resulted in Ryan falling to the ground with a yelp. The man didn't even flinch, whereas Kelsi turned around to look over her shoulder at Ryan. He was on the floor in heap and she most definitely saw more than one tear come from his eye. The man jerked Kelsi onward toward the chair, once again almost giving her whiplash. When they got to the chair, Kelsi was violently pushed into the seat.

The man went to fiddle with the video while Kelsi empathetically looked after Ryan. He had still not met her gaze, which worried her. Obviously the man was ready. Kelsi could hear the hum of the camera.

"Hey girlie, I need you to read this while looking into the camera. Can you do that?" The man asked. Kelsi nodded but did not look at him. She continued to stare at Ryan.

"I mean now, _sweetie._" The man put emphasis on the last word that made it sound like poison. "NOW!" He yelled, making Kelsi jump. She stared straight into the camera and squinted to see the words next to it.

"To whoever is watching, I have been kidnapped and taken for ransom…" Kelsi struggled to keep her composure. She looked to Ryan for support, who for the first time since they entered the room, he returned the gaze. Ryan knew that she needed strength for this and he would lend her all he had.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or its characters. I do however own this story!

Sorry it took so long to upload...School has been keepin' me pretty busy. I'm sorry!

"To whoever is watching, I have been kidnapped and taken for ransom." Kelsi stopped to look at Ryan, who returned her gaze. Ryan was lending all his available strength to Kelsi. Not that he had a lot, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Kelsi needed him and he felt that. Ryan pulled himself up so that he was now sitting. He was trying to focus all his attention on Kelsi and not the pain that he was feeling. She looked back at the camera.

"My kidnapper demands that 100,000 dollars be delivered to the old theatre on Bonaparte Avenue by this Friday, October 3." Kelsi stopped and looked again to Ryan. Their gaze was interrupted by the man. He went from behind the camera to behind Kelsi's chair. Ryan's narrowed his eyes. He swore that if that man ever did anything to hurt her, he was no longer going to be the nice little boy that everyone thought he was. The man restrained Kelsi by putting his forearm over her collar bone and pulling her to the back of the chair. Ryan jumped, or at least thought he did, but went nowhere. His legs were failing him when he needed them the most.

The man licked his lips and said, "And if you don't give me my money by, then," The man stroked a finger on his free hand against the side of Kelsi's cheek, making her let out the tears that she had been holding back all this time. "Well, you can guess what will happen." He said the last statement with an added smirk. Ryan felt himself let out a low growl that didn't feel like him. The man let Kelsi go, but she stayed there, sobbing. Then man shut off the camera.

"Okay, you're done." The man said with a flick of his wrist. Kelsi stumbled over to Ryan and basically fell into his lap. Ryan caught her with a soft grunt.

Ryan held her tight and absorbed the chills that were running through her body. Ryan buried his head in her hair and inhaled deeply. He ignored the discomfort that he was feeling as his bruises and cuts sustained extreme pressure. He was trying to calm himself down; he knew that he would surely have to record a message next. Kelsi let it all out, all the pent up emotion. Ryan could feel the vibration of the man's footsteps as he came closer to them. Neither of them faltered from their original positions. The man was now standing next to the children in the heap on the floor.

"Evans, get up. Get up now, or I'll have to _pick_ you up." The man said to Ryan. He glared down at the children and narrowed his eyes. He didn't like disobedience. The grabbed Ryan by his hair and pulled him up. Ryan cried out in pain as he was dragged to his feet. The man walked in front of Ryan, pulling him behind. Ryan struggled to keep up and stay on his feet. When the man reached the chair, he pulled Ryan in front of him and flung him to the ground. Ryan writhed with pain on the white sheet. Kelsi couldn't look at him; she didn't want him to hurt anymore than he already did by seeing the look in her eyes.

Behind the camera, the man pressed a few buttons, but his finger hovered over the record button. He peered around the camera and saw that Ryan was still on the sheet lying on the floor. The man then had a idea that he believed to be brilliant. He thought that if he filmed Ryan on the floor and read the words himself, it might be slightly more persuasive.

While the man changed the angle of the camera, Ryan tried to stop crying. He had to suck it up, he knew that. He just couldn't this time. The fact finally hit him that this man was serious. He had stolen Kelsi and him for reason. Ryan didn't want to find out what the man would do to him if he didn't get the money. He shivered at the thought. He continued to quiver and sob on the floor. He didn't even attempt to look at Kelsi; he didn't want to burden her with his pain.

Kelsi on the other hand _wanted_ some of his pain. She didn't want him to suffer anymore. As she was thinking of this, she was watching the man look over the words that he had written. He then started to read them. He said the same words that Kelsi had read, except he replaced 100,000 with 500,000. Kelsi was right. Ryan _was _rich.

She was surprised that the man didn't add any consequences to the end of Ryan's message. However, she was thankful for that; she didn't want to know what would happen. What she did know is that if she needed to, she would take a bullet for him. They had bonded so much through the past day that she knew she was never going to go a day without thinking about him.

When her thoughts came back to Earth, she saw that the man had taken out the video of Ryan and was now labeling them with what looked like a marker. Kelsi looked at Ryan, he had stopped squirming. Kelsi jumped to her feet and wiped her eyes when she was running to Ryan. She landed on her knees beside him and stroked his back. Ryan's eyes opened and focused on Kelsi.

"Ryan, be strong okay?" Kelsi said. She wanted him to be all right, wanted him to feel well again. Ryan closed his eyes and fell asleep. Kelsi stayed by his side. The man had been minding his own business and did not pay attention to anything that the children were doing. When he was situated, he left the room, videos in hand, leaving the children alone.

Kelsi felt Ryan's head to check his temperature. He was sweaty and he was cold. She wondered how he could go from the scorching heat she felt last night to the clamminess she was feeling now. She held him tight and calmed herself. She knew that the man would not be back soon. Kelsi had seen situations like this in the movies her mother took her to. The kidnapper would record a video and take it to the police so they could broadcast it. As she was thinking of this, Kelsi had a brilliant idea. While the man was out, she and Ryan could escape. The theatre they were in was in a mildly remote area, so he wouldn't be back for awhile.

She got so excited, she was shaking. She started to stroke Ryan's hair, his cheek, hoping he would wake up. Kelsi then thought, _Ryan, we're going to get out of here. I don't know how we're going to do this, but we're going home!_


End file.
